Fandral in his Place (Asgard Shorts series 1)
by LadyLorena
Summary: The first follow up one-shot to Best of Both Worlds- snippets of Grace and Loki's lives in Asgard. Fandral comes to have a real conversation wtih Grace for the first time since he convinced Loki to invade Jotunheim to prove himself a worthy defender of his Midgardian friend. Grace has a few words for him regarding the topic of his conversation. Rated T for mild cussing.


Grace had managed to avoid Fandral for most of the year she had lived in Asgard. Her goal was to continue this as long as she could, given how little she liked him and his previous comments on her appearance, his devaluation of women, and his intense dislike of Loki and inability to hold his tongue. Unfortunately, she failed in her goal. She was sitting in a window ledge in the library and he walked in and spotted her.

"Ah, Grace! Just the person I wanted to see."

"And why the hell would you want to see me? You know I'm still pissed at you, right?"

"Yes. And yet I still wish to speak to you."

"Make it quick and then please leave me alone."

"There are rumours in the guard that you are Loki's consort, and yet you refuse to wed him. This is causing some trouble with the men."

"What business is it of theirs if I want to get married? And if I'm having sex with anyone or not?"

"They are saying they will refuse to protect you as one of the royals if you do not make yourself one of them."

"I'd guess they'd better take that up with their king, then, given he's made it pretty damn well clear what my position here is and how I'm to be treated."

"They can choose to disobey him."

"And if that's their inclination, maybe they'd better find a new job."

"You are not helping anything, Grace. You ought to be doing everything you can to make this easier on everyone, not straining things by disregarding how traditions of love and marriage work in this realm."

"Or how about you guys just think about the fact that it's not your love life and not your marriage, so just butt the hell out? I'm not responsible for your discomfort."

"There are also rumours amongst the men that while you appear to be with the prince, your true affection lies with the women of this realm."

Grace's eyebrows raised just about as far as they would go, "Wait, your men are the ones spreading the 'secret lesbian' rumour?"

"Well I would not say spreading..."

"Given the different incarnations of it I've heard, I would. And given that I'm the subject of your little game, I get to make that determination. So put it to rest. There's nothing secret about the fact that I don't care about parts, I fall in love with people. I dated women for decades back in Midgard. I've also dated guys, but not very many and not in a long time. And they can just shut up about who I'm with now. My decision, my man, my love life. Now why the hell are you telling me all this?"

"Because you ought to know."

"Uh huh. And is this like the 'you ought to know people think you're weak and can't protect her' conversation you had with Loki years ago? Because that was low."

"You still remember that? It was decades ago!"

"And it got me kicked out of Asgard for 20 years. Yes, I remember. And yes, I'm still a bitch about it. And I don't trust a damn thing you say about your own motivations."

Fandral played hurt, mocking her, "I am aghast, Grace, that you would think so low of me- that you think I would deceive you. I only have your best interests at heart."

She rolled her eyes, "Just get the fuck out and leave me alone. You can tell your men to take a flying leap if they've got a problem with me or they can take it up with Thor."

He put his hands up defensively, "Do not shoot the messenger. But I take no responsibility for what they may or may not do."

"You're the captain of the guard. Take that up with Thor, too. If you can't trust your men to follow the order of their captain or their king, you've got a bigger problem."

He tossed his hands in the air and muttered something about women and their ways as he left the room. Grace returned to her reading, exasperated. She would talk to Thor later, but not Loki. He would only be upset by Fandral's comments, likely to the extent that he would feel guilty for not having discussed marriage with her. She did not want any arrangement they made to feel forced or coerced. Thor, on the other hand, would know what to do, both about the guard and about Fandral's inability to hold his tongue.

That night, she stayed after dinner, sending Loki back to their rooms while she talked to Thor. She relayed the conversation to him. The next time she saw Fandral, he was sheepish and quiet. Whatever Thor had said, it had put him in his place.


End file.
